Monday, 27 September 2010

Tip Top Meats and a birthday breakfast

mmm-yoso!!! is a food blog. Just a way for you to peek at what a few people eat. Kirk and ed (from Yuma) are not blogging today. Cathy is.

Hi. Another year has passed and it has been time for the week of feasting for The Mister and me. Yes. He was born exactly a week before I was. This year, our birthdays fell on a Sunday. Our 'tradition' is that he gets to choose where he wants to eat the first three days (Sun-Mon-Tues), we have to agree where and what to eat the middle two days, and I get to choose where I want to eat the last three days. I have photos of all the meals, but will start with my birthday meal first. Because there are no rules.

I chose Tip Top Meats, in Carlsbad, just off the Interstate 5 at Palomar Airport Road. Vicky did a post with us about Tip Top and a delightful dinner more than three years ago and also explained a few things, like it is an Old Fashioned meat store.Which also makes their own sausages.Smokes their meats in house.

Has one whole aisle shelf of just licorice for sale. Another aisle of beers for sale.Right across from the two aisles of wine. There is a lot more interesting inventory stuff, even though the store seems not too large. I find all sorts of interesting, familiar and new European and Mediterranean products here in addition to all the meats. But really, just walk to the left(West) of the store from the entrance/exit doors.Look up. There is a menu.Follow the people waiting in line, just past the refrigerated glass case with fresh pastries and pre-made side salads is the cash register, where you order, pay, get a number and get a coffee cup, which you will fill when you walk into the open seating dining area, which I did not take a photo of because it was crazy crowded at 8:36 on a Sunday morning (The store and dining area open at 6 a.m. daily) when our number was 114.Since it was my birthday, I did eat my breakfast pastry first. A fresh, flaky traditional(made with raisins) slice of apple strudel ($2.49) with a cup of coffee ($1.79). {On our very first date, The Mister and I went to a German restaurant in Ann Arbor and shared a piece of apple strudel for dessert.}The Mister ordered the Steak and Eggs ($8.98)- two poached eggs, rye toast, wonderful, crispy, nicely seasoned home fried potatoes and a 6 ounce, perfectly medium-rare cooked Delmonico Steak. Yes Delmonico, which is essentially a boneless rib eye, but how that cut was referred to decades ago. (I did say it was an Old Fashioned meat store there at the start of this post...)I got exactly what I craved- the European Continental breakfast ($7.49). I almost always order this, because the first time I did, decades ago, the meat I got was in-house made Head Cheese, which was perfect. I know some of you may not know what Head Cheese is, but I bet a lot of you would like it, especially the Tip Top version. (Head Cheese is not cheese, it is an aspic filled with sliced head meat and maybe heart and feet from a cow, calf, pig or sheep and seasoned with onion, allspice, salt and pepper). This time, as a perfect meal for my birthday, the plate came with three slices of a nutty swiss cheese, five slices of a really great Black Forest Ham and about ten slices of hard salami...all my favorites! (I always buy ham and hard salami whenever I get deli meats) Two crusty French rolls accompanied the plate. It was the start of a nice day.

Comments

ALWAYS eat your pastry first! What a breakfast! What a birthday!! NORMALLY, I would be a jealous. But I have some good news myself today. I've sourced some cow fresh milk and I'm gonna make my own cheese! Maybe you can talk Kirk into coming out and all four of you can spend next year here! ;o)

Happy Belated Birthday Cathy! I think ours is the same day or a few days apart.. Anyhow hope to make it my way to Tip Top Meats soon. Have you been to Iowa Meat Farms? Another I need to check out one day.. Thanks for sharing your meal experiences as always. Cheers

Hi Jo! I can't wait to hear about how the cheese worked out. I'd love to try some.
Hey, ed. I hit almost all of your cravings just from those photos! That is why we get along. Tip Top is a great resource. Next time you are in the area...Thanks for the wishes. It was a week...
It is a wonderful head cheese, JF. $5/lb. They make a "Big John" breakfast- two eggs, potatoes, toast and all you can eat meats (bacon, brat, Polish and ham) $7. Really.
Thanks, Kirk.
Considering I don'tcrave sweets, Mary, this is the perfect exception. The food is always good here.
Thank you, Kirbie. More to come. We ate out a lot.
Thank you also, Dennis. I do go to IMF- it is closer to my home than Seisels, which has the same owner. I can get to IMF without going on the freeway (Mission Gorge Road starts about there and goes right into Santee). Both of them, Tip Top and Major Market are my go-to sources for meats and sausages, although the new Albertson's on Genessee, Bristol Farms and Costco carry Prime cuts also.

I moved up north (about 15 miles away from Tip Top) but the weird thing is I haven't back there since I moved. I love all their chocolate and all the European snacks. I always see a long line in the morning whenever I'm there. It must be that good, huh? Did you see those huge bones that they have? Do people make stew or Pho out of those?

Thanks for the birthday wishes, Carol. I am(finally) noticing I really do enjoy breakfast, every day...Definitely a morning person.
Thanks so much, Tammy! The beef stew ($5.98) and the Large Dinner Salad ($4.98) are not what you would expect. (better in so many ways.) The first time we came here, the prime rib dinner was $4. We noticed the line and got into it. -Hunk o'meat and a rib and all the sides- Same stuff, now $10. Still a great deal with great food. Now they also have just a rib meal. There is plenty of meat on the ribs, well done and you can take the bones home for soup. I have... The breakfasts are wonderful. There is a line for a reason.